"I just remember her waking up with such waves of pain," Mike recalled. When doctors broke the news of the tumour to the couple, both were But it was a risk he put in the back of his mind, until that fateful day last fall. Few were affected more by Alex‘s ordeal than her husband. Mike Froome. Mike said he was aware of the threat of a brain tumour, since Alex‘s mother succumbed to the condiâ€" tion in 1986. The goal of the event is to attract 500 participants and raise $65,000. All proceeds raised will directly support the Brain Tumour Research Centre. "Our aim is to build awareness and turn a horriâ€" ble day into something good," said Liz Fryer, a longâ€"time friend of Alex‘s and an organizer of the event. "This just hit so close to home, we couldn‘t not do something." So to celebrate her bright outlook, as well as raise awareness and funds for brain tumour research, Alex‘s family and friends have organized the first annual Alex Pavanel Run For Funds For Brain Tumour Research. On Sept. 28 â€" the anniversary of Alex‘s diagâ€" nosis â€" supporters are encouraged to participate in either a fiveâ€" or 10â€"kiloâ€" metre walk/jog/run, startâ€" ing at Waterloo Park. Following the procedure, Alex was given a positive prognosis, though she has lost 75 per cent of her vision. Del Maestro performed Alex‘s second, successful operation to remove the 90 per cent of the tumour, and started her on the road to recovery. Her situation took a downhill turn the next day, when she suffered a brain injury after undergoing an emergency craniotomy. Her saving grace arrived in late October in the form of Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, an internationally renâ€" owned professor of neurolâ€" ogy and neurosurgery and professor of oncology at McGill University, and cliniâ€" cal director of the Brain Tumour Research Centre at the Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute. Last year, Sept. 28 to be exact, the wife and motherâ€" ofâ€"three was rushed to Grand River Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. The news rocked her family and friends, as Alex exhibited no symptoms of the condition. en Alex Pavanel W:ruome took up running four years ago, little did she know her new hobby would one day play a key role in saving her life. Run raises funds for brain tumour research By Anorea Baimey Chronicle Staff "She‘s back to running six kilometres every day, and she‘s surrounded by incredible family," Mike said. Meanwhile, she is workâ€" ing every day to get back her life as it was before the tumour. "Doctors chalked it up to her incredible athletic state. She had been running 10 kilometres every other day for years." Mike said it will take between one and two years for Alex‘s brain injury to settle down. But staff also said Alex‘s great physical state gave her a great chance to beat the cancer. "Most people wouldn‘t have survived, but she did," Mike said. "It was then we realized her family history," Mike said. "The tumour was such a size there wasn‘t enough room for her brain and the tumour." in a state of shock l m Te Alex Pavanel Froome brain tumour survivor AUDI ADVANTAGE~ on #o 000 KiLOMETRES NOâ€"ChamGE SchEDuLED MAINTENANCE 4 YEARS $3 *Finance plan available through Audi Finance Canada. 1.9% offer pertains to a 48â€"month finance term on all 2002 A6 models. Additional :ates available for other 2002 Audi models. see dealer for details. Purchase example: $55,000.00 financed at 1.9% for 48 months, monthly payment is $1,192.09, cost of borrowing is $2,162 32 and total to ba repaid is $57, 220.32. Down payment may be required. Insurance and applicable taxes are extra_ Offer ends October 3, 2002. See dealer for details Mike praised his wife for the strength she‘s shown What‘s also obvious is the outpouring of support from the community, Mike said. And he said it‘s that kind of support that will help put an end to cancer, specificalâ€" ly brain tumours. "Let‘s end this," he said. "Because I refuse to go through this again." "But they see Mommy getting better," he said. "It‘s still sometimes hard for them to realize that some things have changed. But now that Alex can read them their stories again, you can see the bonding taking place." But Mike also said his wife‘s ordeal has been espeâ€" cially hard on their three daughters, Hannah, Amy and Elizabeth, who are still so young and unable to fully understand the extent of their mother‘s condition. With her vision imâ€" paired, Alex feared having to give up one of her favourite pastimes, reading. Not so, said Mike. "She‘s back to reading three books a week," he said. arriving soon int u/nn% whispers 1369 King Street, St. Jacobs (Upper Level) (519)664â€"1016 Crosby Audl Lingerie For more information, visit www.froome.ca. A barbecue provided by Piller‘s will follow, along with entertainment. Registration for the run will begin at 9 a.m. at the Waterloo Park Band Shell, with the start to follow at 10:30 a.m. "In Alex‘s mother‘s time, a brain tumour was synâ€" onymous with death, and that‘s not always the way," Mike said. "It‘s not always a sad story." But if anything good has come from the Froome‘s nightmare, it‘s an optimism that‘s come from what‘s often seen as a hopeless sitâ€" uation. "She had this inside her and nobody knew it. She was living in harmony with the tumour. And one day she just woke up to all of this." "She‘s such a fighter," he said. through the recovery process. ED VAN DAM www.crosbyaudi.com + 4@E w STEAMATIC. total cleaming & restoration W efficiently remove dust and dirt accumulations W reduce the level of bacteria on upholstered furniture by an average of 96% 585â€"1840 www.canadianplumbers.com ~. "eur" â€" 1 g% . roRm | 1. 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